Brilliant benefits: Why investing in a travel partner with expense management is a valuable next step

Your small business is growing, and you need more employees on the road. It’s vital you invest in more travel plans but with so many moving parts, it’s difficult to stay on track with who has traveled where and what they’re spending.

In the past, when operations were smaller, travelers simply booked trips themselves, used whichever platform they wanted, and requested reimbursement. However, now your team is expanding, you’re noticing that the expenses are adding up, and it’s getting more difficult to monitor. Not to mention the time it’s taking to reimburse everyone. And was that an out of policy booking?

In today’s travel climate, a lack of visibility around how your employees book travel and what they’re spending while they’re away, puts you and your business at a disadvantage. When corporate travel and expense management programs are unmanaged, chances are they cost far more than they need to, and might even be putting your travelers at risk.

The solution? Investing in a managed travel partner

As face-to-face meetings become more valuable, a managed travel partner can offer smarter business travel solutions while keeping the bottom line of your business goals top of mind. Some of the most significant benefits of utilizing a travel partner include:

1. They help streamline your travel booking process and workflows

By automating the different travel components like lodging, flights and car rentals into one online booking platform, they allow the booking process to become more efficient and easier to manage.

You also get to benefit from centralized billing solutions which consolidate all travel expenses into a single invoice, and allows you to review claims in real time. This removes the pain of reviewing big piles of individual claims piece-by-piece once your travelers are back from their business trips.

2. It benefits more than just travelers

It’s pretty clear that an on-the-go mobile app is excellent for your travelers. But what you might not know is that various teams across your business will gain great value from it as well. A managed travel partner offers travel managers and finance teams the ability to review claims and use a mobile expense system to check and approve reports while on the move themselves. Once travelers submit their expenses, a notification is sent to your travel management or finance team’s mobile device. They can approve on the go, from wherever they are; after all, your travel managers and finance team are often on the move too!

3. 24/7 access

When you go with a leading travel management platform such as American Express Global Business Travel (Amex GBT), your travelers have access to the platform no matter where they are. With an on-the-go mobile app, you can submit expense reports, amend bookings and can rely on reaching a travel consultant any time – day or night. Instead of having to keep track of several vendors to update their travel and submit expenses, your employees enjoy one point of contact that’s reachable through a variety of different channels – including the mobile app, email and more.

4. Travelers will enjoy the perks of concierge services

From handling details such as seat preferences, to making sure travel reward points are applied accordingly, a managed travel partner will elevate the traveler experience by taking care of all your employee’s travel needs. This makes their travel experience seamless and allows them to focus more on the purpose of their business trip.

5. They can help reduce corporate travel costs

Because managed travel partners specialize in finding and negotiating the best travel deals and pricing with enterprise providers and partners, they have access to lower rates on flights, hotel rooms, and transportation. This cuts down on overall business travel costs while still offering competitive name-brand selections.

And it isn’t just at the booking stage where savings can be made. When your travelers are back, or even when they’re out, you have the capability to approve, monitor, and analyze the money being spent in real-time. This gives you better visibility on how much cash you have on hand, benefiting from more oversight on future reimbursements and money going out. This way, you get to decide where to save and what needs attention.

6. They provide traveler safety assistance

Whether unexpected security concerns arise, or travel regulations are updated at the last minute, corporate travel management partners uphold your duty of care by keeping travelers informed with notifications via the mobile app.

7. You can integrate your company’s corporate travel policy for greater compliance

A managed travel partner will bridge the gap between employee travel booking best practices and your company’s corporate travel policy. They can filter an employee’s search results to be automatically compliant to your business’ travel policy guidelines, saving them time and providing an easier experience. If, for whatever reason, an itinerary isn’t compliant, it’ll get flagged for further approval.

A streamlined expense reporting and approval process makes it much easier to keep an eye on what expenses are being requested, and whether they fall within your travel spend policy.

Going with the right travel partner for your business

While there are a number of different corporate travel management partners to choose from, the right one will depend on your business needs and goals. And don’t forget, since you’ll work closely with them to create and organize your employees’ travel, they should align with and uphold your company’s values.

Partnering with Amex GBT

If investing in a managed travel partner is the next step for you, Amex GBT provides smart, modern travel management that can save both time and money. You’ll have the ability to build integrations that help you automate, connect, and simplify your travel and expense management, while receiving around-the-clock support. So, you can finally wave goodbye to out of policy, pricey bookings and drawn out expense processes.